Congratulations to Anne J. who commented that her worst computer disaster was when, “I dropped my laptop and broke the screen. The data was still there, but I couldn’t get any of it. We finally manage to hook it up to an external monitor so we could run a backup and retrieve the data, but it took hours of frustration to get it done.” Anne won the 4GB Tuff N Tiny Drive from Verbatim.

I’m not really sure why I have been using a wired mouse for so long when I have a host of wireless ones in my laptop bag. I find that I am constantly yanking on the too-short cord and finally decided I’ve had enough. It didn’t hurt that Verbatim sent a box of goodies that included a brand new purple wireless mouse as part of their Verbatim’s Got Your Back(up!) campaign to give my work-at-home office a makeover in the name of spring cleaning.

If the name Verbatim sounds familiar, it’s because they have been around for 40 years and are the masters of information storage. Back in the day of buying CDs to back up my data, Verbatim was our brand of choice. These days Verbatim continues to make CDs and DVDs but has some amazing new products that are affordably priced to keep everything on your desk neat and organized.

Spending my nights in front of my computer leaves little time for organization. My once-neat desk has a stack of items to review to the left of my computer, press releases on the right, and a couple of smartphones that await testing scattered around among the other remnants of my life.

At any given moment a spilled cup of coffee or a toppled water bottle threatens to flood the surface and erase all of my data but thankfully, Verbatim’s CLŌN Portable Hard Drives have provided peace of mind to an obsessive compulsive person like myself who likes to make sure that everything is backed up can do so easily before the next big disaster. Products that come across my desk never make it on this site unless they are easy to use and work like they are supposed to and my 250 GB CLŌN ($56.23 from Amazon) couldn’t have been easier to use. CLŌN provides full backup and restore functions. It also allows users to easily copy and protect valuable memories and work that includes music, videos and photos. I like that the black, scuff resistant surface travels well and slips easily into your pocket or briefcase since it is just a little bigger than a smartphone.

Since I spend my days teaching, there are times where I need to take documents back and forth rather than e-mailing them to myself just due to the sheer size. My new favorite flash drive is my 4 GB Tuff-n-Tiny ($16.49 from Amazon). Penny-thin and travel-tough, the Tuff-n-Tiny offers secure storage in one of the most compact, durable USB flash drives available. Designed for everyday handling and resistant to dust, water and static discharges, this drive measures up to its name and is compatible with all USB ports. Despite its storage capacity, this drive is much smaller than the typical USB thumb drives and holds everything I need for work and more in a small package.

Verbatim also send me a spindle of DVD+R LightScribes (25 for $20.59 from Amazon). While I find that my family doesn’t burn DVDs anymore, I like the idea that LightScribes allows users to burn their data then flip the disc over and reinsert it into the drive to burn a precise, permanent, professional looking iridescent label. Somehow that looks a little more professional than me scrawling on it with a Sharpie!

Now that I have taken care of backing up my data maybe I’ll find a few moments to purge the paper and dust! Perhaps this weekend…

Win your own 4GB Tuff-n-Tiny USB flash drive courtesy of Verbatim!

Just leave a comment about your worst computer data disaster. A winner will be randomly selected in about a week. Don’t forget your e-mail or Twitter handle so I can contact you when you win!

Thanks to Verbatim for providing the above products for review purposes. I was not compensated or required to write a review of these items.

My worst computer disaster was when my toddler stepped on the screen of my fairly new laptop. (I know now not to leave the computer on the floor). The screen was cracked, it wouldn’t turn on anymore, and was unsalvageable. I replaced the computer, but I will never be able to replace the files I lost on it. From now on I back up everything (something I didn’t do before)… especially my baby’s photos. I lost a lot of great memories with the little guy’s accident.

I don’t know if this qualifies as a “disaster,” but it was very annoying and frustrating to me. A few weeks back my computer started doing all kinds of funky things–blue screen, error messages, freezing up, even the colors on the screen changed! After much work and pulling of hair, I found out one of my memory modules had gone bad. I removed it and all my problems disappeared. Who knew?!

Worst computer disaster had to have been when the cat knocked the modem over. He took a flying leap and when he did, it fell over causing a fan to unhook and the DVD player to jiggle loose. Lesson learned, put desktop modem on a lower level so cats don’t confuse it with a ‘perch’ because the modems are warm!

My worst computer data disaster was when I dropped my laptop and broke the screen. The data was still there, but I couldn’t get any of it. We finally manage to hook it up to an external monitor so we could run a backup and retrieve the data, but it took hours of frustration to get it done.

mitchj:my worst diaster was when trying to check email and holding my infant, she projectile vomitted ontop my laptop. the laptop was a present of only 3 months; it was a total loss. what saved me was I hadn’t yet transferee all my things from my old pc.Watson(@)zerostreet(dot)net

We’ve had a few disasters and they always happen at the worst time. When the computer got a virus and wouldn’t start up and I needed to print out my labels for Christmas cards! I was in a panic that if all my info got lost, I would have no clue where to send all those cards. We have back up for that computer now. Now that I work from home on my laptop, I need a system for that too. Thanks for the info on this system.

It was the first year of college and my bf gave me a desktop! Little did I know it was used and had a CRAP hard drive. Well back then I didn’t know about backing up and it crashed the morning my first paper was due! I CRIED!!

Most recent computer catastrophe was when I went for coffee and returned to find our parrot on my keyboard. He had his feathers all puffed out … and then I focused on what was left of my keyboard. aarrrgh! He had jumped from his perch area to the chair to my laptop on the desk. He was thrilled to discover his beak could pry keys off and while I was deciding whether to use the French Vanilla or Hazelnut creamer, 10 keys were detached. He was defiantly proud of his accomplishment and screamed at me from his cage while I attempted to snap those keys back in place. All the keys were reseated though it took 3 people to get it done. Never turn your back on an uncaged parrot.Lost the form I was working on though the data loss was not my top concern.

My computer crashed a few years ago. It just stopped working. All of our family digital pics were on it (including S’s baby pics) Thankfully the hard drive was still good and I was able to recover them.

My worst computer data disaster was when Google completely deleted my blog and I didn’t have ANYTHING backed up! They kept my blog deleted for 2 weeks before they put it back up again and said that it was the fault of their genius spam robot who incorrectly deleted it. By then, I had already rebuilt my entire blog from scratch on WordPress!

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Welcome! I'm Leticia, founder of Tech Savvy Mama and a DC Metro area dwelling mom of two elementary aged children. With a background in classroom technology integration and school administration, I now use everything I learned from teaching children, teachers, and principals as a professional blogger, social media strategist, and freelance writer. Read more...